Vatican releases 1st report of Financial Information Authority

(May 22, 2013) The Vatican has taken another step in trying to show greater financial transparency by publishing a first annual report from its new financial watchdog agency, known as the Financial Information Authority (AIF). TThe report released Wednesday showed the agency received six reports of suspicious internal transactions in 2012, up from one a year earlier, and that two were sent onto Vatican prosecutors for investigation. The 10-page report, however, makes no mention of any supervisory operations carried out in 2012 despite recommendations from international evaluators that such work, including inspections, risk assessments and regulation is critical to fighting money laundering and terror financing. The Vatican created the agency in 2010, in a bid to shed its image as a secretive tax haven and improve its reputation in global financial circles, following a series of scandals.Source AP: